ARE YOU GOING TO TELL ME YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR?

Here’s my second little personal styling feature I wrote for the incredible Mama Tribe.

It’s a bit about providing some everyday outfit inspiration, but mostly about trying to incorporate some of your ‘nicer’ belongings in to your day-to-day looks.

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PERSONAL STYLIST

As a personal stylist, my entire business ethos is built around you wearing more of your clothes more often, so I often tell my personal styling clients:

‘IT’S TOO LOVELY TO SAVE FOR ‘BEST’

I want you to shop in your own wardrobe before going out and spending more money on more ‘stuff”. It creates a more sustainable fashion environment which you can read more about here.

PERSONAL STYLIST in SYDNEY

Working as an image consultant in Sydney, I know that SO many of us are guilty of opening our wardrobes and thinking

‘I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!’

when the more accurate statement should be..

‘I DON’T KNOW HOW TO CREATE THE OUTFIT I WANT TO WEAR’

Cue my image consultant skills!

GIVE YOUR WARDROBE A MAKEOVER, SYDNEY!

So when you find 5 minutes maybe escape to the toilet for some peace and quiet, click here to read my Mama Tribe feature, and once the kids are in bed, open your cupboards, delve deep, you know, right to the back of your wardrobe or to the bottom of that draw and pull out something you haven’t worn in a while because your saving it for when you go somewhere ‘nice’.

When you find that item, give it a style makeover = a casual makeover.

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STYLE TIPS:

Take advantage of my image consultant services and try out one (or two) of the practical fashion tips I suggest to see if you can make that item more casual and therefore get more wear – and more importantly – more enjoyment from it!!

Feel like you need some one-on-one help? Then contact me here to book in a session!!

And remember, if you’d love a free OUTFITTING GUIDE, flick back to facebook, like, share & provide your email address! Easy!

SUMMER WARDROBE ESSENTIAL – WHITE SKIRTS

Working as a wardrobe planner, I believe every woman should have at least 1 white skirt in her wardrobe doing either of the following jobs:

> 1. white casual skirt
> 2. white formal/occasion skirt

A WHITE SKIRT IS LIKE THE SUPERHERO OF CLOTHES

They give your closet a summer makeover, instantly transforming your tops…. in to summer outfits!

It’s not a fashion trend, but a wardrobe essential!

Casual White Skirt

1. For a casual fashion style, you can’t beat white denim or cotton and they come in a variety of shades/shapes depending on your personal style and body type, here’s 5 of my high street fav’s:

SUMMER WARDROBE ESSENTIAL - WHITE SKIRTS SUMMER WARDROBE ESSENTIAL - WHITE SKIRTS SUMMER WARDROBE ESSENTIAL - WHITE SKIRTS SUMMER WARDROBE ESSENTIAL - WHITE SKIRTS SUMMER WARDROBE ESSENTIAL - WHITE SKIRTS

 

Formal/Occasion White Skirt

2. Ideally, you would also have a more formal version for ss19 too, this could be for work or play (or ideally 1 that would work across both), depending on your lifestyle. I’ve picked my fav 5 of these too, some from the haute-street:

HAUTE-STREET (higher end high-street)

SUMMER WARDROBE ESSENTIAL - WHITE SKIRTSSUMMER WARDROBE ESSENTIAL - WHITE SKIRTS SUMMER WARDROBE ESSENTIAL - WHITE SKIRTS SUMMER WARDROBE ESSENTIAL - WHITE SKIRTS

 

SUMMER WARDROBE ESSENTIAL - WHITE SKIRTS

 

Fashion Tips – Keeping Whites, white

Some say that white is difficult to wear with kids because it shows stains, but so does black skirts when it’s covered in toothpaste, food or fluff!

My tip for keeping your whites, white, is bicarb of soda, it’s a wardrobe wizard as listed in my blog I wrote ‘8 Fashion Must Have’s’  which you can read by clicking on the link.

Summer 19 Makeover

So, simply swap your darker bottom-of-body for one of these white or cream versions and you’ve got summer dressing all wrapped up!

All white?

COLOUR CONSULTANT – BEAUTY MAKEOVER

With spring racing, Christmas party’s and new year all within a hop-skip-and-a-jump from each other here in Australia, finding the most flattering lipstick shade is an important part of your fashion style.

As a PERSONAL COLOUR CONSULTANT, I identify the most flattering colours to suit your individual features but this doesn’t start and stop with clothes, it extends to beauty and make-up too.

YOUR PERSONALISED COLOURS ARE THE ONLY SHADES YOU’LL EVER NEED!

Beauty Makeover

The whole point of wearing lipstick is to enhance your features, so by wearing the incorrect shade, it actually can have a detrimental effect!

My ONLINE CLIENT needed help identifying her ideal lipstick shades so she sent me through a few to look at…

beauty makeover

Colour Stylist

My client is an AUTUMN so she has some natural warmth.

You can see that 1 & 2 flatter this client in different ways as they too have warmth to them, but colour 3 is too cool blue for her and dulls her complexion…and hair!!

If you saw shade 3 in isolation, you’d probably think it was ok but once you try a few shades on and compare, you can clearly see the difference.

Lean more about COLOUR here

Style Tips

I suggest that when (and if) you have a few spare minutes, pop in to a make-up brand and ask them to try a few lipsticks on you including different finishes – but take photos in the same light so you can compare one against another as this is when the winner is obvious!

You could even book in for a make-up makeover which may cost, but you’ll receive style tips and will be introduced to new beauty products as they’re improving all the time which in turn, improves the way we look for less effort. And we all know that’s a good thing.

THE DRESS YOU NEED IN YOUR WARDROBES, SYDNEY!

 

My ethos as a wardrobe planner is to:

CHOOSE WELL, BUY LESS

Which means that I want to make all your purchases work harder for you

 

WARDROBE PLANNER

We’re all guilty of wearing something once and then feeling like you want to move on to the next thing – which is often in the shape of a brand new outfit. However, as a stylist, I look at at potential purchases questioning how many ways I can wear it. Could I wear it to work? Could I make it work casually?

It’s ok that not all your belongings can be styled up and down, but we want MOST of them to be to versatile enough to cross your different lifestyle areas, even a show stopper of a dress!

By giving a little thought to this and planning how you’ll wear your wardrobe, makes your money and time go much further…

Read more about the advantages of WARDROBE PLANNING here.

 

The dress you need in your wardrobes sydney

 

WARDROBE STYLIST

So, I wanted to share with you the perfect little dress I found that’s just hit the shop floor at @cueclothingco for spring/summer19. With silly season just around the corner, you don’t want to be buying multiple outfits when 1 well-thought-out dress can cover everything! Save yourself money by buying this standout patterned dress that you could to wear to all of these events:

Spring carnival ✔️
Christmas party ✔️
Christmas day ✔️
New Year’s Eve ✔️

STYLE TIPS

And then come autumn, depending on your personal fashion style you could give it a makeover;

> throw on a black jacket and heel and wear to the office ✔️
or
> a slouchy black knitted cardigan and sneaker to wear for day ✔️

I call it ‘THE WARDROBE HIERARCHY’

Clothes we buy for ‘best’ enters at the top of the hierarchy and once we’ve worn them for a few events, start then wearing to work …and then for the day!

So before you make another purchase, question how to dress it ‘up’ & ‘down’. Does it offer versatility? This forces you to be more accountable for how you spend your money and by giving your clothes a makeover, it breaths new life in to them and keeps them out of landfill, one outfit at a time.

If you’d like some more styling inspiration, take a look at my portfolio, particularly the different ways I have styled ‘1 dress 12 ways’ and see if you can use some of the theory on a dress you own?

FASHION TIPS FOR BUYING THE PERFECT WHITE SHIRT

Now, as it’s a new season (cue happy dance) we need to talk about getting your wardrobe essentials in order.

One of the main reasons clients find dressing challenging is when they haven’t got their versatile ‘must have’s’ in their closet that effortlessly build outfits time after time, season after season.

They’re not called ‘WARDROBE ESSENTIALS’ for nothing.

PERSONAL SHOPPER

So do you know what to look for when buying the PERFECT WHITE SHIRT? Let my experience as a PERSONAL SHOPPER guide you to shop smarter…

 

 

WARDROBE PLANNER

We might all share a similar shopping list when searching out our wardrobe essentials, such as a denim jacket, a black jean, white t-shirt etc. but depending on the the following factors, depends upon the particular style each of us choose to purchase:

  • PERSONAL STYLE
  • FIT & BODY TYPE
  • FABRIC
  • BUDGET
  • LIFESTYLE

When you know what you need in your wardrobe, shopping becomes less stressful so as your WARDROBE PLANNER I create a shopping list bespoke for YOU and your fashion style.

PERSONAL STYLIST

Every client has their own style idiosyncrasy’s hence why they call it PERSONAL STYLING.

I offer you ideas on how to dress and YOU choose what you like best, we workshop it together. As your stylist, the most important thing I can do is to listen to your feedback which is key to us finding your style.

However there will always be certain features that everyone can benefit from and this is why a quick video to share my style tips is a couple of minutes well spent.

Enjoy!

THE 4 MOST FLATTERING COLOURS…. IN THE WORLD!!

(am I allowed to claim that..?)

So, working as a COLOUR CONSULTANT in Sydney has taught me a huge amount and interestingly it’s where the ‘science’ part comes in to my personal styling service.

A few decades ago, the 4 seasons color system was introduced which is the basis for my personal colour analysis but I modernise it by dividing it in to a 12 colour system which better represents today’s diverse skin tones. This means I create totally bespoke colour palettes for each of my clients.

Colour Consultant Secrets

I wrote a little article for Mama Tribe you might be interested in….

Have you heard of them? Mama Tribe are a brilliant organisation with a simple goal – ‘no mum left behind’. It’s an inclusive place to connect with like-minded mums to share their up’s & down’s of motherhood so no mother ever has to feel isolated. Ever.

Click here to read my feature

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Mummy Makeover

Mums, and particularly new mum’s, are exactly the demographic who would benefit from understanding what their most flattering colors are but ironically they’re the group of people that have the least amount of time to undergo a personal colour analysis!

Hence why I offered my fashion advice to show them within a couple of minutes THE most flattering 4 colours they could wear, regardless of where they sit on the colour wheel, to make them feel like they’d had a good nights sleep, despite probably being up all night.

personal colour consultant sydney

Your Personal Shopper

In addition to sharing my colour consultant secrets, I have also put together the above high street edit of these 4 most flattering hues so you can shop with speed whilst achieving a fantastic capsule closet. Purchasing a few pieces from here will give you a mini WARDROBE MAKEOVER !

You’re welcome x

STYLE TIPS WHEN BUYING A BLAZER

For me, a statement blazer is still a ‘must have’ this season, it’s a good value, versatile, stylish item. There’s hundreds of ways (well, maybe not that many) of how to dress it ‘up’ & ‘down’ and wearing a jacket always makes you look like your making an effort but depending on the styling not too much effort, because none of us want to look like we’ve tried too hard, do we?

But do you know what to look for when purchasing a blazer?

Pop on this video to learn the fashion tips you need to make a smart purchase whatever your body type:

 

 

This blazer I’ve bought is more of a fashion trend that instantly updates my more basic items and depending on your individual clothes style & lifestyle, there’s a version for everyone. You might prefer a plainer fabric as this one is quite bold, yet this statement stripe is surprisingly versatile, check out my INSTAGRAM for the different ways i’ve styled it.

As an image consultant I want statement pieces that are fun and easy to wear which is exactly what this stripe blazer delivers, plus because of the high stretch content, it fits more like a comfy cardigan!!

Stylish AND comfortable? Result!

 

SYDNEY!! DO YOU NEED THE SKILLS OF A PERSONAL STYLIST?

You seek help from a hair stylist for your hair, so why not a clothes stylist for your wardrobe?

Some of you plan your meals to make the week run smoother and avoid wasting money, so why not plan your outfits for the same reasons?

 

 

How A Professional Helped Me

I can honestly admit that seeking the help of a professional nutritionist has positively changed my world forever!! Her name is Natasha Fayle, she’s the founder of Nutrition For Two and is fantastic.

Embarrassingly, I lacked the skills needed in the kitchen to create healthy meals for my family (as my husband can testify). I had cupboards full of food but I didn’t know how to put them together and frankly even when I did attempt to cook, the result erred somewhere between cat food or total frickin’ disaster.

It overwhelmed me, created self doubt and made me feel pretty crappy if i’m honest. So I sought professional help to fill in the gaps in my skill set.

Now when I look at all the food in my cupboards, I don’t get overwhelmed as I can see the finished product – the meal – and with a few cooking tips I can safely say i’m getting better every month.

And as an image consultant, this is exactly what I do for you, but for your wardrobe!

Wardrobe Makeover

I can give your closet a WARDROBE MAKEOVER where I edit, re-organise and re-outfit all your belongings to create a functional wardrobe that brings you joy!!

The Key is….

I listen and work with you, imparting my expert advice whilst showing you practical style tips relevant to the real world, how much you choose to take on is up to you. I can help identify your clothes style, teach you how to dress for your lifestyle and personal taste, but how we get there is by workshopping with you.

I wouldn’t have had success with my nutritionist if she hadn’t got to know me and the particular way I live my life hence why getting to know you is KEY to our success.

It’s called PERSONAL styling for a reason.

NECKLACE CHEAT SHEET

Ever wondered what necklace to wear with what neckline? Particularly the more tricky off-the-shoulder or asymmetric styles?

Then check out my cheat sheet I put together for a popular magazine to navigate you through even the most difficult of necklines.

necklace cheat sheet

The Advantages Of Buying Jewellery

Jewellery is fantastic for many reasons:
– a great way to elevate your personal style
– you can play with pop brights and unusual combinations if you’re not so colour-confident
– to dip your toe in a trend you wouldn’t wear in clothes
– it fits you even if you put on weight
you can borrow from/lend to a friend as it will always fit
– it can dress up the most basic of outfits
– trans-seasonal as you can wear it all year round
– it’s generally inexpensive
– can be incredibly impactful!

I’m showing necklaces for a black top but could just as easily be accessories for a black dress, it’s the style tips and theory that matters.

 

Necklace Guidelines

Adding jewellery should compliment your outfit, not spoil it. As an image consultant I get asked all the time how to accessorise as it’s something clients can easily get wrong.

In general, try and follow these easy guidelines when choosing the perfect pairing of necklace and neckline:

> The necklace should follow the neckline, or
> Fit the space left by the neckline
> Aim for the jewellery to be in synergy with the neckline ie.angular shapes or fine/delicate

Jewellery is the perfect way to have fun with fashion so take a risk!

 

STYLE HACK – HANDBAG MAKEOVERS

Bags – the one item I tend to splurge on is a bag. It used to be shoes but I trashed them too quickly and they would never look as good as when you first wear them…but a bag ohhhHH a good bag looks better with age.

bag makeover

A designer bag can elevate even the most basic of outfits, it makes me feel, well ‘dressed’, a bit like the icing on a cake.

There’s so many handbag styles to choose from and this is one time I don’t mind carrying around a logo so if you have your eye on a branded style, consider your alignment to that designer and whether it fits your fashion style.

My skills as a wardrobe planner mean I spend a lot of time researching the bag, visiting it in store, trying it on making sure it’s practical etc. it also needs to be a bag suitable to wear everyday so my cost-per-wear is relatively low.

Then the personal shopper in me kicks-in and I save-up or stalk it online and buy it when it’s on sale!

As a fashion stylist I might buy a more trend-led bag but my style advice to clients would be that a smart bag purchase shouldn’t date easily but be more of a classic investment that flatters your clothes style for years to come.
 
Now, because i’ve spent all this time and money on it, I want it to work extra hard for me so I give it a StyleSense makeover!

Your Brand New Bag!

Why not try it and give yourself the gift of a new bag, for free and without any sewing!?!

What If I don’t Have a Bag Strap to Swap?

If you don’t have bag straps to swap over you could:

1. buy them from the high street – see my facebook page later this month for details.

Or

2. you could try this second style makeover which uses a skinny scarf or a soft belt as a bag strap. Un-clip your current strap to transform your bag by tying on a long piece of fabric, stitching once of necessary. Perfect for the small bags that are a huge fashion trend for Autumn/Winter 2018.

Show off your personal style by being playful and give these easy fashion tips a try!